Waimea Canyon State Park, Kauai, Hawaii

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kauai, the Garden Isle, is located the most north west of all of Hawaii’s major islands. This island is beautiful with tropical plants and lush green rugged mountains and is the 23^rd largest island in the United States. The sugar cane industry was born on this island. This island is also much less populated than other islands keeping this island more rural and laid back. The beauty of this island is endless.

Waimea Canyon State Park is a part of Kokee State Park and has more than 45 miles of trails to hike in over 4,300 acres. This canyon is considered the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The difference lies in that it has touches of green on the red rock canyon that makes it really stand out. The colors are spectacular. It is so beautiful to see.

We stopped at many overlooks to gaze upon the canyons beauty and size. This is the largest canyon in the Pacific and is ten miles long and more than a mile wide. The deepest gorge is 3,500 feet. This canyon changes how it looks throughout the day as the sun hits it from different angles.

Waimea in Hawaiian means reddish water which would refer to red soil and the erosion to the sea which makes the water red. Millions of years ago, volcanic activity as well as the Waimea River helped to carve out this fabulous canyon.

Waimea Canyon has acres and acres of undisturbed land where you can sit and just watch nature and hear the birds sing. We were blessed to be there on a clear day. This is a spectacular site by land or air. We took a helicopter ride and we could not of had a clearer day to see this site.

Throughout the gorge are many beautiful waterfalls including Waipoo Falls. Waipoo Falls cascade 800 feet to a lovely swimming hole at the base of the falls. It was not flowing that hard when we saw it but after a rain the flow is much heavier. It was still beautiful to see.

We really enjoyed our time on this island. There was lots more to see but the ship was leaving so we had to leave with it. Goodbye Kauai. Till next time.